Every living being carries the Light of Creation within itself. This is what en-souls us.

The word 'religion' comes from the Latin word 'religare': a bond, a binding back to something. True religion is the original umbilical cord that binds our individual selves back to a greater, universal source. 

The words 'divinity' and 'divine' (sometimes 'Divinity' or 'The Divine') are broadly applied but loosely defined terms. They are used variously within different faiths and belief systems - and even by different individuals within a given faith - to refer to transcendental power or deity, or its manifestations in the world. The root of the word means literally 'godlike' (from the Latin word Deus - God, closely related to Zeus in Greek, Div in Persian and Deva in Sanskrit).

 In our culture milLennia of Judeo-Christian thinking and dominance have "buried" and "pushed into near oblivion" the fact that once upon a time God was Goddess (or God was a Woman as the author Merlin Stone puts it!) and matriarchy, not patriarchy, was the norm. Goddess symbolism is lunar (following the Moon) and cyclical: a constant and eternal transformation between creation and destruction, birth and death, always shape shifting: always seeking renewal and resurrection. The Moon's three phases (new, waxing and old) are often perceived as trinities or triple deities representing the maiden, mature woman and crone. This is often referred to as The Triple Goddess aspect.

The many Paleolithic and Neolithic artifacts found in Europe are often referred to as 'fertility goddesses' in archeological literature, but it must be remembered that Goddesses were Creators of Life and Bringers of Death,  not primarily beauties and or wives of male gods in the "supporting role"!

The same thing goes for the general concept 'Mother Goddess' as many goddesses are not mothers and do not carry or represent that aspect. In fact Old Europe worshiped some highly unusual gods and goddesses (to our 'modern' way of thinking anyway): I am thinking here of the 'Bird and Snake Goddess' (see picture) ,the 'Vulture Goddess' or the 'Hedgehog Goddess'... There was also Cardea, the Goddess of the Hinge and wife of two-faced god Janus

 <  ANUBIS - THE WEIGHING OF THE HEART CEREMONY    SOLD

Ancient Egyptians believed that people accumulated good and bad deeds in their heart during a human lifespan.  If people lived a good life then in the the moment of death their heart would be as light as the Feather of Truth that the goddess of Justice, Balance and Divine Order (called Ma'at) wore on her head. Once the mummification process was complete the Ba (or soul) of a person travelled to the Duat (Underworld) for the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony. Their heart was weighed against the Feather of Truth. If the heart was light enough, the person went to a wonderful place in the Afterlife (with Isis and Osiris). If the heart was found too heavy, the goddess Ammut (Devourer or Soul-Eater) would swallow the soul and that would be the end.  TheJackal-headed god Anubis performs this ceremony.

Requesting this ceremony makes an excellent shamanic journey as it allows us to find out where we hold grief and resentment in our heart, unwillingness to forgive or make amends, unwillingness to do our inner work and shadow work. If we do this ceremony in a mediation or shamanic journey it means that there is time left in The Land of the Living to work through those psychic burdens and live more lightly.

 <  CERNUNNOS   80 x 100 cm   £525

 "At the Sacred Centre, in the Grove of all Worlds, He sits with legs crossed beneath an ancient Oak. Entranced, connecting the three worlds of Earth, Sea, and Sky and the worlds behind the worlds, the God and the Great Tree are One. Immense limbs widespread, stretching into distant sky and starry space. His massive trunk, spine of the Middleworld, is the heart of the Ancient Forest around which all Life, all worlds turn. His limitless root web grows deep into secret earth and Underworld.

Above him the great turning circles of Sun, Moon, and Stars. All around Him subtle movements of the leaves in melodious, singing air. Everywhere the pulsing, gleaming Green awash in drifts of gold and shimmering mist. Beneath Him soft moss creeping over the dark, deep, moist of spawning earth. At His feet the great Cauldron from which the Five Rivers Flow.

Through the forest stillness they come, whispering wings and secret glide, rustling leaves, and silent step, the first Ancestors, the Oldest Animals, to gather around Him: Blackbird, Keeper of the Gate; the Stag of Seven Tines, Master of Time; Ancient Owl, Crone of the Night; Eagle, Lord of the Air, Eye of the Sun; and Salmon, Oldest of the Old, Wisest of the Wise, leaping from the juncture of the Five Springs.

He welcomes them and blesses them, and they honor Him, Cernunnos of the nut brown skin and lustrous curling hair. The god whose eyes flash star-fire, whose flesh is a reservoir of ancient waters, His cells alive with Mystery, original primeval essence.

Naked, phallus erect, He wears a crown of antlers limned in green fire and twined with ivy. In his right hand the Torq of gold, testament of his nobility and his sacred pledge. In his left hand the horned serpent, symbol of his sexual power sacred to the Goddess. Cernunnos(2) in His Ancient Forest, His Sacred Temple, His Holy Grove, Cernunnos and His children dream the Worlds."

J.M. Reinbold, author of CERNUNNOS

 <  CHIRON      (71 x 92 cm)       £450    (Centaur and Archetypal Wounded Healer)

Chiron (or Kheiron) was the eldest and wisest of the centaurs, a tribe of of half-horse men. However, unlike the rest of the tribe he was an immortal god, a son of the Titan Kronos (Chronos) which makes him a half-brother of Zeus. Chiron's mother was the nympth Philyra. She was having sexual intercourse with Kronos when his wife appeared on the scene unexpectedly. To escape her attention, Kronos shape shifted into a horse and this is how he came to sire a half-equine son. Chiron/Kheiron's name was derived from the Greek word for hand (kheir), which also meant 'skilled with the hands'. The name was also closely associated in myth with the word 'kheirourgos' or surgeon. (In my mothertongue, Dutch, we say 'chirurg', which stays vey close to the classical Greek!)

One day Chiron attended a dinner given by the Centaurs for Hercules (Herakles). A fight broke out and Chiron was wounded in the knee by a poisoned arrow (dipped in hydra-venom). As a child of a god, Chiron was immortal, so the wound did not kill him. However, the wound did not heal and caused him great suffering. To use a modern phrase you could say that he found himself in a Catch 22: he could not heal from his wound and he could not die either. In the end Herculus (Herakles) worked out a deal... The Titan God Prometheus had been chained to a rock by Zeus. This was his punishment for having stolen fire from Olympia as a gift to mortals. Daily Zeus's eagle would come and eat Prometheus's liver. At night the liver would heal and history repeated itself every day following. As stipulated by Zeus, Prometheus could only be released if a mortal offered to take his place and went to Tartarus. This meant being giving up the status of an immortal and that meant dying. Chiron took his place and eventually managed to die (and so escape his wound). Chiron has been honoured in the night sky for the constellation Centaurus was named after him.

Before his death Chiron became a master physician, teacher, prophet and musician. One significant detail in the story is that through his own quest for personal healing, his ability to heal and teach others grew!